THE JATAKAMALA
Table of Contents:

The Tigress
The King of the Sibis
Small Portion of Gruel
Head of a Guild
The Invincible One
The Hare
The Sage Agastya
Maitribala
Prince Visvantara
The Sacrifice
Lord of the Devas
The Brahman
Unmadayanti
Suparaga
Lord of Fishes
The Quail's Young
The Story of the Jar
The Childless One
The Lotus Stalks
The Treasurer
Kuddabodhi
The Holy Swan
Mahabodhi
The Great Ape
Sarabha
The Ruru Deer
The Monkey Chief
Kshantivadin
The Brahmaloka Inhabitant
The Elephant
Sutasoma
Ayogriha
The Buffalo
The Woodpecker

Adapted from the 19th century translation by J. S Speyer

"Verily, my own body is broken, 0 king, but my mind is in a state of the greatest soundness,
now that I have removed the distress of those over whom I long ruled. Just as those heroes who have vanquished their proud enemies in battle wear on their limbs the beautiful marks of their prowess, so I gladly bear the pains of my own efforts as if they were ornaments."

Those who follow the behavior of the virtuous win over even the hearts of their enemies. This will be taught as follows.

In the heart of the Himalaya there is a blessed region whose soil is covered with many kinds of herbs of different efficacious properties. This region abounds in hundreds of forest-trees with their great variety and manifold arrangement of boughs, twigs, flowers, and fruits. It is irrigated by mountain-currents whose water possesses the limpidity of crystals, and resounds with the music of manifold crowds of birds.

In that forest lived the Bodhisattva lived, it is said, as the chief of a troop of monkeys. But even in that state--in consequence of his constant practice of charity and compassion--he attended on their enemies--jealousy, selfishness, and cruelty--as if they were at war with him.

His residence in the forest was a large banyan tree, which due to its height stood out against the sky like the top of a mountain. Towering above the landscape as if it were the lord of that forest, that tree possessed thick branches beset with dark foliage that resembled a mass of clouds. Being loaded down with excellent fruits of a size surpassing that of palmyra-nuts, those curved branches were distinguished by an exceedingly sweet flavors well as a lovely color and smell.

Even when they are in the state of animals, the virtuous still have some remainder of good fortune which tends to the happiness of their friends. For their sake the virtuous employ their good fortune in the same manner as the remainder of the wealth of people abroad may serve the wants and needs of their friends.

One branch of that tree hung over a river which passed nearby. Far-sighted as he was, the Bodhisattva had instructed his flock of monkeys in this manner: "Unless you prevent this banyan branch from having fruit, none of you will ever be able to eat any fruit from the other branches."

Now it once happened that the monkeys overlooked one young and not very big fruit, hidden as it was in the cavity of some leaf made crooked by ants. Undetected, as it were, that fruit grew on, and in time developed a fine fragrance, color, flavor, and softness. When it eventually ripened and its stalk became loose, it dropped into the river. Being carried down the stream, it stuck at last in the network of a fence that had been placed down in the river by the orders of a certain king, who, together with his harem, was sporting at that time in the river's water.

Spreading about its delicious smell of great excellency and delightful to the nose, that fruit made the odors of garlands, rum, and the perfumes of the bathing women all disappear, despite the facts that those scents had been intensified by the union of the interlacing women who bathed there.

This smell soon enchanted the women. Enjoying their prolonged inhalations with half-shut eyes, they became curious to know its origin. While casting their eyes in all directions, the women perceived that banyan fig, which surpassing by its size a ripe palmyra-nut, as it stuck to the network of the fence. Having discovered it, they could not keep their eyes from it.

The king was no less curious to know the nature of that fruit. He ordered it to brought to him, commanded reliable physicians to examine it, and then finally tasted it himself. Its marvelous flavor raised the king's amazement, just as a good representation of the marvelous sentiment (rasa) of a dramatic composition ravishes the mind of the spectators and arouses their admiration.

Although its extraordinary color and smell had previously surprise that monarch, its flavor filled the king with the highest admiration and agitated his mind with lust. Although accustomed to sampling dainties, the king became so eager to enjoy that relish that the following thought entered his mind: "If one does not eat those fruits, in truth, what fruit does a king obtain from his royal station? Only he who partakes of such deliciousness is really a king, and without toiling in the exercise of royal power."

Having made up his mind to find out the origin of that rare delicacy, he reasoned in the following manner: "Surely, the excellent tree from whence came this fruit cannot be far from here and it must also stand on the riverside. For this fruit cannot have been in contact with the water for a long time, having retained its excellent color, smell, and flavor. Moreover, it is undamaged and shows no trace of decomposition. For this reason, it should prove to be possible to pursue its origin."

Possessed by a strong desire for that delicious flavor, the king ceased sporting in the water and--after taking such measures as were suitable for the maintenance of order in the capital during his absence--set out in the company of a great body of armed people that was specifically equipped for the expedition.

They marched up the river and enjoyed the different and various sensations proper to journeying in a forest-region. They cleared their way through thickets that were haunted by ferocious animals, beheld woodlands of great natural beauty, and frightened the elephants and deer by the noise of their drums.

The expedition eventually arrived in the neighborhood of that tree, which is a place most difficult for men to approach. Like a mass of clouds burdened by water, that lord of trees appeared from afar to the eyes of the king. Dominating the other trees which seemed to look up to it as to their sovereign, it stood near a steep mountain, and indeed resembled a mountain itself.

The exceedingly lovely smell, more fragrant than that of ripe mango fruits, which was spreading from it and met the army as if it went to receive it, made the king sure that this was the tree he sought for. Coming near, he saw that boughs and branches were filled with many hundreds of apes. Seeing that those animals were eating the tree's fruits, the king became angry with those who were robbing him of the very objects he so ardently longed for.

"Hit them! Hit them! Drive them away! Destroy them all, these scoundrels of monkeys!" ordered the king. Some of the king's warriors made themselves ready to shoot off the arrows with their bows. Others uttered cries in an attempt to frighten the monkeys away. Still more people lifted up clods and sticks and spears to throw at them. They all invaded the tree as if they were attacking a hostile fortress.

Having perceived the approach of that noisy royal army as it moved with loud tumult and uproar, it seemed to the Bodhisattva as if the billows of a sea had been roused by the violence of the wind. Watching the assault made on all sides of his excellent residence, he observed the arrows, spears, clods, and sticks in motion, which resembled showers of thunderbolts. In the face of such a ferocious assault, his monkeys were unable to do anything but utter discordant cries of fear as their dejected, pale faces looked up at him.

The Bodhisattva's mind was affected with the utmost compassion. Being himself free from affliction, sadness, and anxiety, he comforted his tribe of monkeys. Then after resolving to attempt their rescue, he climbed to the top of the tree so that he might jump over to the nearby mountain peak.

No other monkey could have ever traversed that intervening space even after completing two leaps in succession. However, the courageous monkey chief swiftly crossed that great expanse with one single bound as if it were a small distance. His compassion had fostered his strong determination, but it was his surpassing heroism which brought it to perfection. Through the earnestness of his exertion, he found the way to it in his mind.

Having mounted an elevated place on the mountain-slope, he found a cane that was tall, deep-rooted, strong and having a size that surpassed the distance between the mountain and the tree. After fastening this cane to his feet, he jumped back to the tree once again. But owing to the great distance and the embarrassing tiredness of his feet, the Great Being was only able to succeed in seizing the very nearest tree branch with his hands.

While holding fast to that branch, he positioned the cane so that would span that great divide between the tree and the mountain. He then ordered his tribe by means of making a signal that was understood by his race, to use that bridge, as it were, to quickly abandon that tree.

Although bewildered by fear, the monkeys found that way of retreat. Making use of that bridge of freedom, they rushed wildly over their chief's body and made their escape.

Incessantly trodden by the feet of those fear-bewildered monkeys, the Bodhisattva's body lost the solidity of its flesh. However, the Bodhisattva's mind did not lose its extraordinary firmness. Upon beholding his valiant efforts, the king and his men were overcome with the utmost astonishment.

Such a splendid display of strength and wisdom, when combined with such great self-denial and mercy to others, must rouse wonder in the minds of those who hear of it. How much more did it affect the bystanders who witnessed it?

"This chief of apes must be excessively tired," said the king. "Surely, he will be unable to retire from this difficult posture by means of his own efforts. Therefore, quickly dress a canopy underneath the place where he is, and then shoot off the cane and the banyan branch simultaneously with one arrow each."

And so by command of the king, the expedition's archers cause the monkey chief to fall directly onto that canopy, after which the king commanded that the Bodhisattva be placed on a soft couch. There he lay unconscious, for he had swooned in consequence of the painful wounds and exhaustion.

After his wounds had been salved with clarified butter and other ointments suitable for the relief of fresh bruises, he recovered his senses and was thereafter visited by the king. Affected with curiosity, admiration, and respect, the king addressed him as follows:

"You provided your own body as a bridge, as it were, and holding no regard for your own life, you brought about the rescue of all those monkeys. What are you to them or what are they to you? If you deem me a person worth hearing of this matter, pray, give me an answer, O foremost of monkeys. No small fetters of friendship, methinks, would be fastened to such a mind to enable it to undertake such a performance."

In reply to these words the Bodhisattva--in return for the king's wish to relieve him--made himself known in a proper manner: "Those who I had ever prompted to act in accord with my orders, they charged me with the burden of their rule. And I, bound by the affection of a father for his own children, did my part by engaging my mind to bear it. This relationship, mighty sovereign, having become rooted over time is based on an increase in the friendly feelings that exists between animals of the same species. Our dwelling together has strengthened it to the level of the mutual affection felt by kinsmen."

Affected with great admiration upon hearing the monkey chief's reply, the kind said: "The ministers and the rest of his officials are to serve the interest of their lord, not the king to serve theirs. For what, then, did Your Honor sacrifice yourself in behalf of your attendants?"

The Bodhisattva spoke: "Verily, such is the lore of Political Wisdom, Your Majesty, which to my own mind is very difficult to follow. For I find it excessively painful to overlook heavy and unbearable pain, even though I am unacquainted with the sufferer. How much more if those who suffer are like my own dear relations. Upon seeing their distress and despair in the face of sudden danger, my mind was overwhelmed by a great sorrow that left no room for thinking about my own self-interest. Perceiving those bent bows and the flight of glittering arrows on all sides, and hearing the dreadful noise of the bow strings, I jumped over from the tree to that mountain without any further consideration.

"Due to the distress of my poor comrades, who were overcome by the highest degree of terror, I was drawn back to them and their plight. So I tied a cane fast to my feet--a well-rooted reed that was suitable for the effort at hand. Jumping once more, I returned to that tree for the purpose of rescuing my comrades and with these very hands I attained its nearest branch, which stretched outward like a hand to save me. And while I was hanging there with my body extended across that great divide, those comrades of mine made their escape by running without hesitation over this body."

Perceiving the Bodhisattva's ecstatic state of gladness, which pervaded the Great Being despite his miserable condition, the king address him once again: "What good has Your Honor obtained, thus despising your own welfare and taking upon yourself that disaster which threatened others?"

The Bodhisattva spoke: "Verily, my body is broken, 0 king, but my mind is in a state of the greatest soundness, now that I have removed the distress of those over whom I long ruled. Just as those heroes who have vanquished their proud enemies in battle wear on their limbs the beautiful marks of their prowess, so I gladly bear the pains of my own efforts as if they were ornaments.

"Now I have returned to them that long succession of prosperity which I had previously obtained by means of my chieftaincy over the monkey tribe. During my rulership, they not only bestowed upon me their reverence and other marks of worship, but also their affectionate attachment. For this reason, this bodily pain does not grieve me, nor the separation from my friends, nor the destruction of my pleasure, nor the approaching death caused by my own actions, which I now regard as if it were the approach of a high festival.

"For my own part I possess self-satisfaction through the requital of former benefits and the appeasement thereby caused by solicitude. With spotless fame, the honor of a king, and a fearlessness of death, I receive the approbation of the virtuous as a result of my own behavior. All these good qualities, 0 you who, like a tree, are the residence of excellent virtues, have I obtained by falling into this wretched state.

But know this. The vices that are opposite to these virtues will be met by such a king who is without mercy for his dependents. For a king devoid of virtues destroys his good renown. When vices take their abode within him, what other fate may he expect than to pass into the fierce-flaming fires of hell? For this reason, O powerful prince, I have thus explained the relative powers of virtue and vice. Therefore, rule your realm with Righteousness, for Fortune shows, through her affections, the fickle nature of a woman.

"A king must ever endeavor to endow all his people with such happiness as is conducive to their good, as if he were their father: his military men and animals of war; his officials, townsmen and landsmen; those who have no protector; as well as both classes of religious people (Sramanas and Brahmans). Thereby increasing your own store of merit, wealth, and glory, you will enjoy prosperity both in this world and the next. through your display of the felicity that the holy kings of old once deemed proper, which is attainable by practicing commiseration towards your subjects, may you be illustrious, 0 king of men!"

The king carefully listened to the Bodhisattva with the devout attention that a pupil gives to his teacher. After that monarch had fully assimilated the high value of the Great Being's words, the Bodhsattva departed that paralyzed, pain-stricken body and ascended to Heaven.

In this manner, then, those who imitate the behavior of the virtuous win over even the hearts of their enemies. Thus considering, he who is desirous of gaining the affection of men ought to imitate the behavior of the virtuous.

This story is to be cited whenever discoursing on compassion and also whenever instructing princes, in which case this is to be said: "In this manner a king must be merciful towards his subjects." It may also be cited whenever treating of gratitude by saying: "In this manner the virtuous show their gratitude."

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